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COUEAGE. 



A SERMON 



WHICH WAS TO HAVE BEEN PREACHED 



SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 21, 1861, 



AUGUSTUS WOODBURY 



AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED TO HIS PARISHIONERS OF THE WESTMINSTER 
CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY. 




PROVIDENCE: 

COOKE & DANIELSON, PRINTERS, EVENING PRESS OFFICE. 
1861. 



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Note. Mr. Woodbury was suddenly called to act as Chaplain of the First 
Rhode Island Regiment of Volunteers, which left Providence on Saturday, 
April 20th, for the defence of the city of "Washington, against the attacks of 
rebellion and treason. This discourse is printed for circulation among the 
members of his Parish, who generously consented to his departure. 



COURAGE. 



" Wait on the Lord ; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart j 
Wait, I say, on the Lord." — Psalm xxvn : 14. 

The soul of David, moved by the presence of danger, seems to rise by 
the pressure of the occasion, and is inspired to exulting strains of hope 
and faith. His heart was stayed on God. The help of the Omnipotent 
One was vouchsafed to him, and, strong in that help, he was ready to do 
and to dare all things. "Though a host should encamp against me, yet 
my heart shall not fear. Though enemies should rise against me, in this 
will I be confident." The source of this sublime exaltation of spirit was 
his faith in God. The conclusion of such an outflow of feeling was fitting 
to the subject, which had, as it were, taken captive his spiritual nature. 
"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord 
in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, 
and He will strengthen thy heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." 

I shall speak to you, this morning, of Courage, that we may ascertain 
what is its origin, and what are its results. 

Courage is derived from two words, which, in their combination, signify 
an action of the heart — a robustness and strength — a steadfastness and 
power of soul. We may call it, if we choose to coin a word, Heartaqe, 
which perhaps expresses the meaning more clearly than any other term 
that we may use. There are two kinds of this courage. One is that 
arousal of the feelings caused by the influence of external circumstances — 
the pressure of events. Enthusiasm, awakening the emotions to a high 
state of energy, gives unwonted power, not only to the soul, but also to 
the body. It seems as though all the spiritual faculties had expelled the 
weakness of the physical frame, and, had put new strength upon and into 
the body, impelling it to deeds of bravest heroism. All timidity departs, 
and one feels as though no task were too difficult and no danger too 
great. This kind of courage in ruder natures becomes ferocity. The 
animal passions take the place of the spiritual faculties, and the whole 



man is hurried to deeds that would he brave were they not cruel. There 
is then an utter absence of fear, but there is present almost a love of 
carnage, battle, and slaughter. Wounds are not felt, and death is 
despised. But this is more like the fierceness of the wild beast than the 
courage of the man. There is another kind of courage that rises, not fit- 
fully, moved by the gusts of passion, but slowly, steadily, firmly. It is 
not easily excited, but, once aroused, it is indomitable. It stands like 
the everlasting hills, lifting their summits unmoved and steadfast, though 
the storms of centuries beat upon them. It is calm, cool, self-reliant ; 
not making boastful promises, not vaunting its power, not talking much, 
but always ready to do what best it can do ; sometimes even holding 
itself back, till the time for most effective action comes, and then with 
the same cool, calm and steady energy, pressing on to victory. This 
kind of courage grows from the root of principle, a conviction of the 
righteousness of one's cause ; a confidence in the God who loveth right- 
eousness and whose decrees are justice. This kind of courage is as brave 
in repose as in action, faces a thousand dangers without flinching, and 
meets the terrors of death with the smile of triumph on the lips, and the 
tranquil confidence of trust upon the placid brow. It is only the con- 
scious presence of God that can give such courage as that. 

We associate ideas of courage with the profession of the soldier. 
Rightly so. It is a brave thing for a man, even with arms in hand, to 
enter into a systematic warfare with his fellow man. It is a heroic thing 
when that warfare is waged for the sake of a principle, for the sake of 
justice, liberty and right. The action approaches sublimity when a man, 
from a sense of overpowering duty, and with an earnest, serious, prayer- 
ful patriotism, leaves the comforts of home, and the endearments of the 
family circle, and cheerfully gives himself to his country's service, and 
lays his life as an offering on the altar of his country's freedom. Let us 
not underrate these things. There is a greatness — let me say it to the 
(liaise of those who have gone out from us, the flower of our youth and 
the prime of our manhood — there is a greatness in such action, worthy 
of the very highest commendation, and it is all the more worthy, in that 
it lias been done, with an unconsciousness of aught but duty. War is 
terrible, terrible in its anticipation, terrible in its reality. But there is 
something even more terrible — the sense of humiliation and defeat in a 
rightful enterprise, and the sense of dishonor in a failure of duty. When 
a war is brought upon us through no act of our own, but in wanton and 
wicked aggression, there can be nought but honor for those who are 
willing to risk their lives in their country's defence. 

There is a kind of courage less obvious, and less appreciated. It is 
the courage of the man of business. Commerce and trade are constitu- 
tionally timid. Their profits are largest in times of profound peace. 
They seek their gains over seas which float no hostile fleets. Their de- 



sires, therefore, are for a continuance of peace. Perhaps, in the cases of 
many business men, there may be a consent to peace upon any terms. 
Principle may be sacrificed to the interests of property, and the love of 
justice give way before the love of money. But it is not always so. 
There are times when the real heart of the man breaks through the outer 
crust of worldliness, and the generous feelings of the nature flow forth, 
and property is held as nothing when patriotism demands its sacrifice. 
There is courage in going to the warfare, but there is courage also in 
furnishing the sinews of war, when the capitalist releases his hold upon 
the gains of a life-time, the result of long exercised skill, energy and 
foresight, even if there be no sure prospect of a speedy return, and per- 
haps no prospect of any return at all. Then commerce and trade 
suddenly lose their fear, are willing to see the ships rotting at the piers, 
and grass growing in the streets, rather than that the arm of the country 
should be weakened, or its supplies exhausted. It is a brave as well as 
generous thing, for the man of business, or the merchant, to pay out the 
hard earnings of his toil, and only regret that he were not richer still, 
that he might have more to give. Let us do justice to the power of that 
principle of loyalty in men's hearts, which will disarm commerce of its 
timidity, and even place it in the front rank on the field of combat. 

There is another courage, or perhaps I should speak more truly if I 
should say, there is another mode of its manifestation, for all kinds of 
courage must be of the same nature when it has its source in the soul. 
This is the courage of the martyr. The soldier fights for a certain end, 
and is stimulated by the excitement of battle and the sympathy of num- 
bers. The martyr must fight with spiritual weapons and upon another 
field. His warfare must be accomplished alone. In the face of foes, 
thirsting for his blood, he must bear his testimony and meet his fate with 
a world looking on with hostile eyes. The picture of Calvary, and its 
meek martyr, giving up all for his truth, has been painted on the human 
heart in undying colors. It was not the death of the successful soldier, 
dying in the arms of victory with the wreath of glory already woven for 
his brow. It was the death of a world's rejected and defeated Messiah, 
suffering unspeakable agony, both of body and spirit, stretched upon the 
arms of the cross, and wearing the cruel, bloody crown of thorns. There, 
I think, was courage in its highest manifestation — the courage of loneli- 
ness, and the courage of faith, conscious of no glory or triumph now, but 
looking for both in the distant future — the courage which, forsaken by 
man, waited only upon God ! Come thou unto us, brave and faithful 
spirit of the Christ, and make us brave and faithful, to do and bear the 
perfect will of God ! 

What I have said thus far has had reference to the manifestation of 
courage in action. We must not forget that this equality oftentimes mani- 
fests itself in endurance. It is brave to act with firmness in the face of 



armed hosts. But there is bravery also in the endurance winch must be 
manifested in mure peaceful stations. To bear pain with steadiness in 
the dark and silent hospital; to stand inactive and quiet in the reserve, 
when all around are wild with the excitement of battle ; to silently gather 
up one's resources of character, to be in readiness for the great assault; 
even to hold one's self back, to perform a less conspicuous, but at least 
as necessary a duly, in providing for a secure retreat or holding the base 
of communication, sometimes demands as much courage as to engage in 
the deadly strife. For there is to be met the censure and condemnation 
of those who do not understand the policy, and cannot, at first, perhaps, 
appreciate the principle. How often have men complained of the inaction 
of a great general, and the seeming weakness which he displayed ! All 
the while he has been engaged in strengthening his defences, or forming 
plans, which, in their successful development, achieve a greater advantage 
than the most vigorous action could accomplish. Then it is found, that 
what was thought inaction and delay, has really been the cover for the 
exercise of a silent, but resistless energy, and that the desired end has 
been thus all the sooner reached. This is one phase of the courage of 
endurance. 

Another phase of this kind of courage is exhibited in a continued ele- 
vation of heart even in the midst of disheartening circumstances. Men 
are almost certain to be brave, in the midst of successes. But, when 
defeat and reverses come, and all things wear a gloomy aspect, their 
hearts are apt to fail. Then is shown the courage of a heart that waits 
on God. When the storm howls loudest, it is most buoyant and cheer- 
ful. When defeats are most frequent it is most serene. When the 
skies are darkest, it is most brave and bright. The courage of character 
then reveals itself in its most favorable colors. It stands undismayed 
in the most appalling dangers, and with firm front faces all disasters and 
ills. Hope may seem most hopeless. The present may seem most dis- 
mal, and the future have in it no gleam of light. Yet this power of a 
righteous character, founded upon a thought of God, grows stronger in 
the midst of weakness, and rises exultantly above the wrecks of disap- 
pointment. Jiow many men have there been, now illustrious in history, 
whose lives have been almost a succession of defeats, but who never lost 
their courage or their endurance, who held on and held out unto the end V 
Not brave to-day and disheartened to-morrow; not hopeful now and 
despairing then ; not at one time rising to the heights of expectation, 
and at another time, depressed in the abysses of despondency, but always 
brave, always hopeful, always confident of ultimate victory. A man of 
this stamp may be deprived of friends and fortune: may be a fugitive 
and exile from country and home ; may be encompassed by many dangers 
and imperilled by many deaths, but he still retains the strength of his 
heart, and lifts up his soul from every wave of trouble. David, while 



fleeing for his life in the wilderness of Engedi, or among the mountains of 
Gibeah, still sang jubilantly in the power of his faith in the help of God. 
In the midst of his troubles, he says : " The waves and billows are gone 
over me, yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the day-time, 
and in the night His song shall be with me." Paul, the great hero of 
our faith, whose life was a succession of perils, and who died at last a vic- 
tim to his brave fidelity, was yet the hopefullest of men. We can hear his 
words now, clearly and distinctly, over the centuries : " We are troubled 
on every side, yet not distressed ; perplexed, but not in despair; perse- 
cuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed." There have 
been many since his day, who have trodden in the same path, and have 
reached the same goal of immortal life. 

There is another phase of this courage which does not show itself to 
the world, and rarely, perhaps never, meets the public eye, but is yet as 
true as any that ever aroused the heart of any man. It is the courage of 
patience, which dwells in the quiet of home, and in the recesses of gentle 
hearts. The direction of the Spartan mother to her son, as she bound 
the shield upon his arm, " Return with it, or upon it!" has been im- 
mortalized in history. But the struggle of maternal feeling which ended 
in this victory, and enabled her to say this word with calmness ; the tears 
that dropped from eyes, almost too long controlled, after the son had 
gone, have found no chronicler. The words of the plain New England 
woman, as her husband hesitated to perform his duty, " If you do not 
go, be no more husband of mine !" and that of her who brought her two 
sons, and wished that she had more to send, have already been read by 
thousands. But who shall tell, how much conflict of spirit it has cost to 
say such words unmoved ? Who can tell us now, how many just such 
words have been spoken, in the midst of our own community, by those 
whose hearts have been too brave to be selfish, and too faithful to duty, 
even to listen to the voice of love itself? Brave women, wives, mothers, 
sisters, friends ! who thus send out from the shelter of happy homes and 
sweet affections, those whom absence makes dearer still, and whom the 
spirit of duty glorifies, ere action has begun ! Brave women ! Let us 
honor their self-denying virtue. To us, who remain, their lives and hap- 
piness are a sacred charge. Let us make their burdens lighter by our 
friendship, and, in the time of trouble, be to them a help and comfort. 
Above them and above us, is the all-loving God, who never forgets His 
own. Every act of duty He records in the honk of everlasting life. For 
every sacrifice of love. He weaves an immortal crown. " Wait, then, on 
the Lord! Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart. 
Wait, I say, on the Lord ! 

How shall we gain such courage as that? It is by virtue, truthfulness 
and trust. Its source is only in God. A divine impulse moves the 
heart to such lofty attainment. A religious principle, a moral rectitude, 



8 

a spiritual purity, a disinterested love of duty, produce such strength of 
soul as this. Dishonesty, falsehood, self-interest, the consciousness of a 
wrong or unjust cause to contend for, are all sources of timidity and 
weakness. To be really brave, a man's heart must be clear of wrong 
feeling, and his mind free from evil thought. His soul must be fixed 
upon duty, and devoted to truth. Then, with the consciousness of a just 
cause, and in the possession of an upright manhood, his arm is strong 
as with sinews of steel, and his heart becomes heroic. When men are 
thus strong in themselves ; when the homes, out of which they go, are 
the dwelling places of a love of liberty, a faith in truth and trust in God, 
they become invincible. For if the worst should come, and arms are to 
be crossed in deadly strife, while the men themselves are brave, they be- 
come braver still, as thoughts of those homes, and the loved ones there, 
steal into their minds, and encourage their hearts. Over all is the faithful 
God, sending perpetually down His Omnipotent help. 

In times of public trial, there is a courage which springs up from the 
heart's very depths, and makes manifest the latent heroism that dwells in 
men. It is not evanescent and fleeting. It is in the soul, and though 
sometimes silent, is always alive. It is an unwritten life, but it may be 
all the more powerful, because it seeks no occasion to display itself. 
When the occasion comes, it will display itself in a life of grand achieve- 
ment. Then it is found that they who have the deepest life in secret , 
have the strongest life in public. There is no pretence, no attempt at 
show, but a simple, straight-forward, earnest fidelity, which, in its sim- 
plicity, becomes sublime. This lofty kind of courage is not of rapid 
growth. It reaches the summit of its attainment by slow, perhaps pain- 
ful, steps. Those steps are taken in the common lot of one's existence, 
and the result is gained by faithful action in common duties ; by submis- 
sion in the hours of painful grief; by steadfastness of purpose in the 
Struggles and conflicts which meet the soul in the familiar experience of 
daily life. It is the product of a pure principle, an upright character, a 
religious, trusting faith. The soul looks upward to God, and, seeking 
for help from Him whose help never faileth, feels a divine assistance 
coming down and entering into it. Then the soul sings with notes of 
joyful exultation : " The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall 
I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be 
afraid V" Such courage had the saints and martyrs ; such courage have 
many a brave man and woman in our day; such courage may we all 
have, if we seek it from Him whose power and love are over all His works. 

What more can I say? There is but one great Psalm of true and 
faithful life, and the refrain of that, perpetually recurring, can only be, 

" Wait on the Lord; 

Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart ; 

Wait, I say, on the Lord." 



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